A local “goatscaping” company offers goats and sheep for rent — to help with brush control by eating all of the unwanted weeds and plants that plague landscapes.

Goats are known for their industrial-strength stomachs, and can devour bothersome plants like poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak — no problem.

“They metabolize it quickly; they have the largest livers of any herbivores,” said Elaine Philbrick, co-owner of The Goatscaping Company.

It all started for the love of goats; Philbrick said that’s why she and partner Jim Cormier launched their South Shore-based company, the only one of its kind in the area.

“I really love goats,” she said.

The duo started off as volunteers at the Colchester Neighborhood Farm in Plympton, where they keep their herd of 30 goats in the winter.

Philbrick, who grew up in Cohasset, got the idea to offer a “rent-a-goat” service when she read an article in the Patriot Ledger about goats clearing a Braintree golf course.

“I picked up the phone and called three golf courses,” said Philbrick. “Cohasset Golf Club called me back and hired me.”

The partnership started around a year ago. Now, the golf course has a herd of four goats that live and graze on the property. The goatscaping service will be offered as long as the golf course is open.

At the golf course, the goats have a real field day.

“They move around the different holes trimming the rough, especially the briars and poison ivy, in often rocky ledge areas that are difficult to mow,” Philbrick explained.

The 30 goats are divided into six working crews and rented out to various locations. Customers so far include the Black Rock Country Club in Hingham, the town of Duxbury (to clear the Blairhaven park), Planet Subaru in Hanover, and residents from Bedford to Bridgewater, Hanover to Kingston and Duxbury, and, of course, Cohasset.

The state government has also rented the goats to clear out an abandoned property where “the fire department deems the brush a fire hazard, but the area is too dangerous for people due to crumbling buildings,” said Philbrick.

“GreenCAPE is proposing our goats as the solution with NStar for the 100-mile Cape corridor to avoid the controversial herbicide treatment. If we are hired and the Cape is spared 100 miles of herbicide and potential groundwater problems, it is all thanks to our first customer [Golf Club superintendent Glen Misiazek] in Cohasset.”

With such in-demand goats, one would think the Goatscaping Company is a large-scale operation, but so far there are only three employees. Besides Cormier and Philbrick, there’s Henry Dormitzer, a 15-year-old Cohasset High freshman who has become a professional goat herder, working for the Goatscaping Company after school four days a week. Dormitzer feeds and waters the goat and often leads them back to their pen at night.

“He’s completely reliable, and that’s great,” Philbrick said of Dormitzer.

The CHS freshman said that he loves his after-school job — especially since he gets to play with goats.

“They’re really fun and energetic,” Dormitzer said of the goats. “They’re exactly like dogs; they’ll walk by your side and rub up against you.”

When asked if he has any favorites, the 15-year-old replied, “All goats are good goats.” However, there are a few that he’s become especially fond of; their names are Skylark, Zoe, Chloe and Geisha.

Yes, the goats have name — and they answer to them, too.

“Our goats are all friendly like pets,” said Philbrick. “They love people. They know their name and they’re playful, affectionate, curious and intelligent.”

Also just like dogs, the goats are sometimes led along by a leash. Dormitzer noted that this can be a tricky way to tame them. He prefers to keep it old school — by using a shepherd’s crook.

“It’s not a joke,” Philbrick said of the shepherd’s crook. “It works perfectly for him… it really is very helpful.”

“The shepherd’s crook is easier,” Dormitzer explained. “Early on when I’d take them, I’d use a leash; now I just run with them.”

There’s little chance of the goats getting loose with Dormitzer leading the way.

Then again, when there’s grass in sight, the animals know exactly where to go.

“They know where the food is, and they just go,” Dormitzer laughed.

The crook also keeps the goats from going astray. Philbrick boasted that she’s “never lost a goat,” either to wandering off or a coyote. A solar-powered electric fence at the golf course keeps the goats safely fenced in; they also have a small field shelter to sleep in at night.

Cohasset resident Stephen Cifrino can attest to the goats’ friendly manner — and their landscaping skills. He and his wife, Tricia, have been renting a herd of five goats for the summer to clear ledge at their Jerusalem Road home. Cifrino is a member of Cohasset Golf Club and knows Misiazek, the superintendent.

“I called Glen and said, ‘Talk to me about the goats,’” Cifrino recalled. “He said that they love poison ivy and bramble.”

Letting the goats chow down turned out to be an eco-friendly alternative to chemical herbicides.

“I was talking to a landscaper about clearing it off, and he said I could clear it off and put chemicals down, but it’s just going to come back in two years,” Cifrino explained.

Renting goats was the way to go.

“It’s sustainable, it’s green,” Cifrino said of using goats instead of herbicides. “It takes care of what I need, and the kids will be the coolest kids in the neighborhoods — they’ve got goats.”

The goats have been a big hit with the whole family

“They are extremely cool animals,” Cifrino enthused. “We’ve had a lot of fun with them. They’re friendly, docile, and playful with the kids. It’s been interesting to see how they interact with the children; it’s been a ball.”

Cifrino said he’s already planning to rent the herd again in the spring, praising their clearing capabilities.

“They’ve done an incredible job,” said Cifrino. “I’ve already booked them for next spring. Next year, we’re going to get the ones we can milk and make fresh mozzarella.”

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